Development of Infrared and Terahertz Bolometers Based on Palladium and Carbon Nanotubes Using Roll to Roll Process

Dedicated to my mother, father, sister, and to my loving husband v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to thank my principal adviser, Dr. Sigfrid Yngvesson, for his guidance during my research and study at Umass, Amherst. I am thankful to him for not only giving me an opportunity to work in his laboratory but also for being a great mentor. He was always accessible and willing to help. His passion and commitment towards research has been very inspirational. Dr. Yngvesson has always been there for me and I could not ask for anything more. This work, of course, would not have been possible without his guidance, inputs, and support. I will forever be thankful to him! I would also like to thank Professors Eric Polizzi and Neal G. Anderson for the enjoyable learning experience they have provided with the classes. The knowledge I gained from their classes has been very useful during the entire course of my research. I am also thankful to Professor Anderson for helping me during critical times during my Master's first year. I would also like to thank Professor Kenneth Carter for his collaboration with THz laboratory. Special thanks to CHM Nanofabrication lab manager, John Nicholson, for teaching me everything I know about fabrication. Many times, he went out of his way to ensure we got everything we needed. I would also like thank John for giving me an opportunity to be the lab assistant to CHM. I would like to extend my special thanks to Martin Muthee and Jacob John for their guidance throughout my thesis and also for making lab work fun. My deepest gratitude goes to my family; my parents Gullapalli Purnanandu and Kameswari, my sister Apurva Gullapalli, my husband Omkar Vyavahare, to my uncle Rampurna Prasad Gullapalli, my mother-in-law Vinaya Vyavahare, and my brothers-in-law Sathish Mandapaka, Kedar Vyavahare and Tushar Vyavahare, and my friend Raghavendra Yerragunta and Shweta Malik for their unflagging love and support. My family has always been there for me. I could not imagine my life without these people. Finally, I am grateful to all my colleagues and friends whose suggestions and encouragement were invaluable throughout my graduate career at UMass Amherst. Terahertz region in the electromagnetic spectrum is the region between Infrared and Microwave. As the Terahertz region has both wave and particle nature, it is difficult to make a room temperature, fast, and sensitive detector in this region. In …